The Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013 (RDPE) is jointly funded by the European Union, through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, and the Government.
The programme has a budget of £3.9 billion. £3.3 billion of the total budget will be allocated to agri-environment and other land management schemes. This funding will help farmers to manage the land more sustainably and deliver important outcomes on biodiversity, landscape and access, climate change and the protection and enhancement though appropriate management of historic and archaeological features. Regional Implementation Plans (RIPs) set out how the RDPE will be used in each of the English regions.
LEADER and the historic environment
LEADER is a European Commission initiative to support the development of rural areas across the European Union (EU). First introduced in 1991 as a funding programme, LEADER is now adopted as a community-based approach to delivery of Axis 3 measures within the wider RDPE and offers a range of opportunities for local groups to identify and care for their heritage including encouragement for tourism activities, village renewal and conservation and upgrading of rural heritage.
English Heritage encourages Local Action Groups (the local partnerships), working alongside the RDAs and others, including Natural England and the Forestry Commission to build on this good work. Individuals, local communities and local organisations can become involved in planning and projects relating to the historic environment by:
- representing their local community on the Local Action Group
- commenting on and putting forward ideas to the Local Action Group on their development plan
- suggesting and becoming involved in projects
The publication 'Leader and the Historic Environment' (September 2008) describes some of the important work carried out by the LEADER+ Programme to realise the potential of the historic environment. It is hoped the examples contained within the document will inspire others during the delivery of the 2007-13 RDPE. The publication has been produced by English Heritage with funding with assistance from Defra and the EU, and has been approved by the England LEADER+ Programme Monitoring Committee.
Other sources of LEADER information
Useful information on the Rural Development Programme for England 2007–13 is available at www.defra.gov.uk/rural/leader. For the UK LEADER+ Network see www.leader-programme.org.uk.
